Phil Neville: Everton need to live up to the hype

Blackburn 1
Everton 0

PHIL Neville warned Everton’s players that for all the anticipation of success this season they still have to produce on the only place which matters: the pitch.

Everton have been tipped for glory by luminaries including Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger but they spectacularly failed to live up to the hype in a turgid encounter at Ewood Park.

Tim Howard’s handling blunder after 14 minutes allowed Nikola Kalinic to sweep home, after the American keeper dropped the ball at his feet.

If that was not bad enough, the lack of reaction and invention from David Moyes’s side following the goal was worrying in the extreme.

Put simply, teams that are supposedly top four contenders do not fail to turn up on the opening day of the season. Yet that is exactly what Everton did. Their garish away strip may well be officially known as “Lighting Pink” but there was nothing electric about a performance that consisted of only two half-chances.

And as far as captain Neville is concerned, the Toffees need to prove their mettle before listening to the plaudits. He said: “That’s probably the first mistake Tim has made maybe since he came to the club. he has been outstanding. He apologised to everyone in the dressing room but I don’t think anyone is blaming him.

“They’ve had one or two chances in the game, not really threatened our goal too much, but we just found it so difficult to break them down.

“That’s what is really disappointing because for all our possession, we didn’t create as many chances as we should have.

“It was one of those games where I always felt we were in control, but you know with Blackburn they will press and harass and try to keep you on the back foot.

“We came here late last season and played really well and tried to replicate that, but never found our rhythm at all.

“We have to forget about this now and remember we are in the big league, and it’s about gaining points. We have to get back to winning games as quickly as possible because we know how a slow start can punish you.

“Our aim all pre-season was to hit the ground running and we didn’t do that so we will have to start next week.”

So how are Everton coping with their new-found top-billing as one of the Premier League’s best sides?

Neville said: “Expectations are good, it’s what we have wanted so we can’t complain about them being higher now.

“We wanted a big squad, we wanted two players for every position and with that comes expectation. Now we have it we can’t go into our shell and become fearful.

“We have to show our mettle and this will show whether we have what it takes to get into that top four. Getting there takes everything you have and more - simply having a good squad will never guarantee you anything. No one in this division has a divine right to finish fourth. Talk is cheap and we need to get back playing.

“It’s a jolt, a kick up the backside. But we have the players, we have the team and we are better than we showed here.”

Morten Gamst Pedersen was the best player on the park as he provided the only glimpse of flair from either side.

Martin Olsson and Mame Biram Diouf also showed brief moments of invention in what was otherwise a flat and listless encounter although Phil Jagielka’s late long-range drive did briefly raise the heart-rate.

Yet despite the game’s inadequacies Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, as always, was more interested in the result than the performance, praising Kalinic for taking his goal so well. He said: “Niko showed why we bought him with a great finish after a mistake by the goalkeeper. We’re very pleased we have taken three points off a team who did the double over us last season.

“This boy is a tough boy, he takes some physical stick and then he starts giving it back. There’s no intimidation I’ve seen him take from any central defender in the Premier League - he’s one mean man.”